Originally posted by brackac Its been on life support ever since IRL left.

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nope. as recently as last year, CART was doing better than the IRL. things have gone to hell in the past year. it's as if the tables have turned 180; except now CART is in worse shape than the IRL was. i blame a lot of this on the piss-poor management of that guy (can't recall his name) who was replaced at the beginning of the year. he was running CART into the ground, and didn't even have a racing background.

btw they're going to a spec engine because CART fucked itself by changing the engine formula in its rules for 2003 and wasnt nice enough to let the engine manufacturers know until late 2001, which severely pissed off honda and ford... toyota was already planning to pull out at that point though.

to add to the list in the first post, also don't forget the recent news that KOOL is pulling out of auto racing sponsorship completely, which impacts the Team Green/Andretti team highly.

The IRL is winning the war because Tony George (owner of the Indianapolis Speedway) spent 100's of millions of dollars to prop up the league and its teams. CART, being a publicly trade company, can't take a shit without stockholder approval. The IRL also has the Indy 500. (Used to be) One of the most recognizable races in the world. But, its ratings and luster around the world are sinking like the Titanic. Nascar's Coca Cola 600 on the same day gets way higher ratings.

End result of this war: Open Wheel Racing in the US is close to death, with musclebound Nascar giggling like a little bitch, pointing its finger at two retarded, cripples having a slap fight.

The IRL has only one mission: Destroy CART. The "All-Amurican," All-Oval" format was a ploy to get some xenophobic fans to come their side after the split (1995). The cars are built for show. Extremely high downforce and minimal horsepower and not to mention conveniently placed, "debris" yellow flags allow for those "record" finishes. The cars are so easy to drive that a amatuer racer/dentist was able to qualify for the Indy 500 a few years back. The league gets NO RESPECT from the F1 community or any other serious premiere level league.

The league was, in concept, a good idea. 1. Give talented American drivers a chance to race in a premier open-wheel league. 2.Equalize the equipment so that the little guys can compete with the big dogs. But that is changing too. The little guys in the IRL are now in the same state as they once were before the split, especially since "Honda" and Toyota are coming over. Big teams get all the choice parts and research and development. Also, the league is now going to Japan and thinking about road racing at Watkins Glen and IMS road course. If you think that the IRL is slow now, what until Sarah Fischer and Billy Boat tries to take on the esses at the Glen.

The IRL may have Tony George's money, Nascar and the ISC's blessing, Honda and Toyota, and the momentum, but the one thing IRL doesnt have is a solid fan base and respect. You cant buy that. Except for the 500, Texas, Chicagoland, Kansas, hardly anyone goes to their races. Those that do had to buy an IRL ticket along with their Nascar ticket as part of the tracks season package.